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Machiavelli’s highly influential treatise on political power

The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality. Niccoló Machiavelli drew on his own experience of office under the turbulent Florentine republic, rejecting traditional values of political theory and recognizing the complicated, transient nature of political life. Concerned not with lofty ideal but with a regime that would last, The Prince has become the bible of realpolitik, and it still retains its power to alarm and to instruct. In this edition, Machiavelli’s tough-minded and pragmatic Italian is preserved in George Bull’s clear, unambiguous translation.For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Prince

Praise

“[Machiavelli] can still engage our attention with remarkable immediacy, and this cannot be explained solely by the appeal of his ironic observations on human behaviour. Perhaps the most important thing is the way he can compel us to reflect on our own priorities and the reasoning behind them; it is this intrusion into our own defenses that makes reading him an intriguing experience. As a scientific exponent of the political art Machiavelli may have had few followers; it is as a provocative rhetorician that he has had his real impact on history.” –from the Introduction by Dominic Baker-Smith

Table of Contents

ChronologyMapIntroductionTranslator’s NoteSelected BooksMachiavelli’s Principal WorksLetter to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici1IHow many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired5IIHereditary principalities5IIIComposite principalities6IVWhy the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death13VHow cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered16VINew principalities acquired by one’s own arms and prowess17VIINew principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms20VIIIThose who come to power by crime27IXThe constitutional principality31XHow the strength of every principality should be measured34XIEcclesiastical principalities36XIIMilitary organization and mercenary troops39XIIIAuxiliary, composite, and native troops43XIVHow a prince should organize his militia47XVThe things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed49XVIGenerosity and parsimony51XVIICruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse53XVIIIHow princes should honour their word56XIXThe need to avoid contempt and hatred58XXWhether fortresses and many of the other present-day expedients to which princes have recourse are useful or not67XXIHow a prince must act to win honour71XXIIA prince’s personal staff75XXIIIHow flatterers must be shunned76XXIVWhy the Italian princes have lost their states78XXVHow far human affairs are governed by fortune, and how fortune can be opposed79XXVIExhortation to liberate Italy from the barbarians82Glossary of Proper Names86Notes99